Pokemon Mystery Dungeon -City of Genova-
by TheNamesJunkie
Summary: In a world where Pokemon coexist with one another, there's bound to be anarchy ruling over the shadows. Join Rioku and his Pokemon Rescue team as they travel to new heights to stop evil in its tracks. Rated T for some swearing and violence, as predicted in a PMD story. Cover art by fluffythehedgehog12.
1. Chapter 1

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 1

A furret is pulling a carridge along a dirt path at night with several bags of what seem to be berries and medicine. As the furret passes by a sign that says, "Genova" with an arrow pointing where the furret was going, he stops as his ears steadily twitch, as if he hears something. He looks around and spots a scyther walking towards its position. "Hello there, I seem to notice that you're having trouble there with that carridge. Want me to- 'goes into a battle position' lend a hand?"

"I-I think I'm fine, b-besides the town I'm heading to is just up ahead." The furret said nervously.

The scyther laughs and slowly walks towards the furret. "No worries, I'll make sure your package will get there."

The furret drops the handles and stands his ground. "I know what you're gonna do! You're gonna try to take it from me!"

"Gee, no shit sherlock. 'he looks around to make sure no ones around' Well I guess I'll have to keep you out of my way then to get what I want!" The scyther said as he starts to run towards the furret.

The furret closes his eyes, afraid of what Scyther will do.

The scyther swings one of his blades at furret. Suddenly, someone grabs the scyther's blade. "What the?! How did you tra-" Scyther is suddenly tossed towards a tree. The scyther slams into the tree and falls on his back.

"Wow, you really are a pathetic coward." The stranger said. As the light shines off of the stranger, he is revealed as a riolu. "Picking on someone smaller than you, almost like my days when I was picked on during my schooling days." the riolu said.

"Oh like I asked how you were treated as a kid!" Scyther said as he starts running towards the riolu. He continuously swipes his blades at roil, missing over and over as the riolu dodges them. "Just stand still and let me hit you!" Scyther said as he swings both blades.

Riolu raises his arms and blocks both the blades. "Heh, well this is your own fault. You told me to stay still." Riolu said as he swipes the blades off his arms. Then, he repeatedly punches scythed in the stomach and finally kicks him into the tree again. The scyther falls on the ground, completely unconscious.

As the furret picks up his carriage, he walks along the path but stops beside riolu. "Thank you for helping me. I don't know what I would've done if he gotten these supplies."

"No problem, 'picks up scyther and holds him by his left shoulder' you might wanna stay by my side if you don't wanna get jumped again." Riolu said as he starts walking along the path towards Genova.

The furret picks up the handles and follows riolu, pulling the carriage along.

* * *

As they make it to the town, the furret sets the carridge in a building named, the Kecleon Shop. "By the way stranger, whats your name?"

The riolu smiles and turns to face the furred. "The name is Rioku." Then Rioku walks off towards another building, Magnemite Prison Cell. As Rioku walks inside, one of the magnemites hover toward him and scyther. "IDENTIFYING CAPTURED CRIMINAL AS SCYTHER, PLEASE FOLLOW ME RIOKU." The magnemite said as he leads him to a jail cell. When an electivire opened the cell door, Rioku tossed him inside.

The electivire closes the cell and locks it with his key. "Thank you Rioku for capturing another criminal. This has been your 4th capture so far."

"Eh, it wasn't that hard really, he barely put up a fight" Rioku said after Electivire hands him a bag of what seems to be money. As he walks towards the door. "Let me know if you got anymore cases."

"WE WILL ALERT YOU IF WE HAVE ANYMORE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. BUT FOR NOW, WE HAVE NONE." The magnemite said.

As Rioku walks outside, he walks towards a small hut. He opens the door and walks inside. As he closes it, he yawns from all the hard work he had today and sets the bag beside his bed.

As morning arrives, Rioku wakes up and gets out of bed. When he walks towards a crate, to possibly grab a bite to eat, he hears a knock on his door. "Be right there!" Rioku said as he grabs an apple out of the crate and starts to eat it. As he makes it to the door, he stops just beside it. "Yes?" Rioku said as he bites into the apple again.

"Hello there, you see we were recommended that we'd stop by your house and-" "If its something your selling, I ain't buying." Rioku said as he starts to walk away from the door.

"No sir, please let me explain further. We were recommended that we would stop by your house to help with one of my guilds team." The stranger said.

"Wait... team? 'opens the door' what do you mean by a- 'eyes widen' Wait you're the Guild Master, Guild Master Clefable!" Rioku said in shock of meeting the Guild Master.

"Indeed I am." Clefable said happily. "But I wanted to stop by to see if you were interested in helping me with a team of ours. One of the teams, named Team Vital Fighters, lost a member and never returned. So late last night I was greeted by a Furret who told me all about you."

"Wait a minute... you mean the Furret who was carrying those items in town?" Rioku said.

"Yes, he was amazed by your abilities." Clefable said.

* * *

Earlier that late night, Guild Master Clefable is in his room writing out documents til he hears a knock at the door. "Come in!" He said.

As the door opens, he is greeted by a Furret and a Machoke walking inside. "Sir, this Furret wished to speak with you about something." The Machoke said.

"Thank you. You may return to your post soldier." Clefable said as the Machoke salutes him and walks back outside. "So my furry friend, what seems to be the problem? Is there a mission I must assign to my guild members?" He asked.

"No sir, its something wonderful. I've been seeing posters all around of another fighter you were wanting for one of your teams. And I think I found one!" The Furret said.

* * *

"So I was wondering if you could help out one of my team members to give them a full team. So what do you say? Do you want to join their team?" Clefable asked.

Rioku smiled at Clefable. "I'd be honored!"

(To be Continued)


	2. Chapter 2

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 2

As, Rioku packs up his things he walks towards the door with Guild Master Clefable waiting. Then he looks behind him and runs towards a small clear round blue crystal. He grabs that and places it in his bag. "Okay now I'm really ready to go now." He said with a smile.

"Well come along, I want you to meet the team today. Now, please don't be fooled by their looks, for they are quite powerful." Guild Master Clefable said.

Rioku looked at him with a confused look on his face. "Um okay?" He starts laughing as they're both starting to leave the area. "Look, it doesn't matter, besides, I'd like to see for myself. And since you're saying that they're this powerful, that could be a benefit."

Guild Master Clefable smiles and leads Rioku to the guild building. "Well I'm glad you think that way."

* * *

Inside the building, teams of pokemon, ranging of 1 type pokemon teams, to pokemon that have elemental types walk by. Then, Guild Master Clefable opens the door and he starts to walk towards another door. As they open it, the room inside is filled with papers of different team names and team members with their age and when they joined the guild.

Guild Master Clefable stands by his desk. "Sit tight while I get your team in the office.

Rioku nodded and walks towards the seats. He sits in one of them and waits patiently.

Guild Master Clefable walks towards the door and leaves.

* * *

After about a few minutes, Guild Master Clefable arrives back in the room. "Okay Rioku, here is your team members." He opens the door wider and lets the two inside. Rioku smiles and walks to the door. But his face turns to confusion. The pokemon who walk inside are an Eevee and Ditto.

"Um... Guild Master? Are you sure you gotten the correct team members?" Rioku said.

"Yes I recieved the correct ones." Guild Master Clefable said.

Rioku gets out of his chair and walks towards the door. "Well Guild Master... I think I changed my mind." He walks past the three and towards the door.

"Eh new members always do this." The Ditto said.

Rioku turns and faces Ditto. "What do you mean 'always?'"

"Listen dumbass, you're not the first one who decided to join our team. Just because we look weak, doesn't mean we are." Ditto said.

"Oh calm down Derrek. Just let him go." "Oh no, I'm interested now. Okay wise guy, prove to me that you're just as good." Rioku said.

"Very well, follow me." Derrek said.

* * *

As they make it outside, they are near a small field with large boulders onto the side. Guild Master Clefable waves towards two Machokes. They walk towards Guild Master Clefable and each Machoke picks up a boulder, both about 9 by 4. They place the two boulders several inches appart. "Thank you boys, carry on." Guild Master Clefable said. The two salute to him and return to their duties.

"Okay, so my guess is that we have to destroy a rock and see who is better?" Rioku said.

"Bingo." Derrek said.

Rioku smiles and pops both his knuckles. "Well then, lets get started. I'll go first." Rioku rears back and punches the boulder. After a few seconds have passed, the boulder begins to crack and it continues to become deeper and deeper. Eventually the boulder collapses into smaller versions of it. "Beat that Derrek." Rioku said with a smirk on his face.

Derrek doesn't even respond, he just smiles and closes his eyes. Suddenly he begins to glow and change in size. He keeps growing and growing, until it finally stops at about half of the height to the boulder. The glow disperses off of him and he is revealed that he transformed into a Machoke.

Rioku stands there watching him. "Heh, I doubt even as a Machoke, he won't even make a dent in it." He thought.

Derrek stands there, until he rears back and balls up his fist. His fist glows white and as he's about to throw the punch he yells, "Dynamic Punch!" and slams it into the boulder. The boulder just shatters into what seem to be dust.

After Derrek stands back in his regular position, he looks at Rioku who has a complete shock on his face. "So... do you think we still suck?" Derrek said as he reverts back to his regular form.

"Wait, I thought that Dittos only way of transforming is to face the pokemon they wish to transform?" Rioku said.

"Well Derrek is different, he's battled so many Pokemon he managed to record most of the pokemon species and transform into them at will." Guild Master Clefable said.

"My god, if thats what you can do... then, 'looks at the Eevee with the 3 stones on a necklace wrapped around his neck' then what can she do?" Rioku asked.

Eevee grasps a blue stone and begins to glow. As she lets go of the stone the glow disipitates and is revealed that she has transformed into a Vaporeon. Suddenly, the blue stone transforms into a grey rock "And thats not all, 'glows again and reverts back into an Eevee' I can also transform back into my old form." Eevee said as the stone reverts back into its regular state.

"Now, do you find us weak? Because we have the name for a reason." Derrek said.

Rioku facepalms and looks at Derrek. "I sincerely apologize Derrek, and... speaking of which, you guys haven't fully introduced yourselves."

The Eevee shakes his head. "No we haven't, well my name is Lynda."

"My name, is Derrek N. Adams!" The Ditto said after he reverts back to his regular form.

Rioku's eyes look up as if he's thinking of something. After a few seconds, he looks at him with an irritated look. "Did you intentionally name yourself that or something?"

"SHUT UP! Look, I was younger and I thought it sounded cool!" Derrek said now flustered.

"'laughs' Heck, you were talking about it all night." Lynda said.

"'hmph' Whatever." Derrek said as he turns away.

"Well my name is Rioku." Rioku said.

"Then its settled. You three will be starting your first mission tomorrow morning." Guild Master Clefable said.

The three form a straight line facing Guild Master Clefable. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Later that night, the two walk into a room. The room was rather large and has three beds. One haystack bed that has a sign saying, 'Lynda.' Another that is a hammock that has a sign saying, 'Derrek.' Beside Lynda's spot is another haystack bed.

Rioku sits in the haystack bed while Lynda sits in hers.

"Alright guys, we got a big day ahead of us. So make sure you get some sleep and a lot of it." Derrek said as he transforms into a Mankey and lays in the hammock.

Lynda lies down and rests her head onto her front legs.

However, Rioku looks up at the ceiling like he's pondering about something. "Man, my first Guild mission. I wonder what it will be like? Well, its best to wait and find out." Rioku said as he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

(To Be Continued)

(Feel free to give me any criticism, anytype of error you point out to me can help me improve, even if it is small and unnoticable.)


	3. Chapter 3

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 3

As the sun comes up and dawn breaks, a Wingull flock passes by the building. Rioku opens his eyes and looks out the window. He see's the sun barely visible from his position. "'yawn' Man, what time is it?" Rioku gets out of bed and notices Derrek still in his bed as a Wartortle. "Wait, I thought he was a Mankey earlier." Then, Derrek begins to glow and change shape. As the glow dissipates, Rioku sees that Derrek transformed into a Pichu. "Woah, thats weird."

"No worries he does that sometimes when he's sleeping." Lynda said as she gets out of her bed and walks towards Rioku.

"So what if he... you know?" Rioku said.

"No worries, he won't transform into anything larger than a Mankey. He managed to keep the size around Mankey or smaller." Lynda said.

"Oh, well thats a relief." Rioku said.

"Although, there was this one time-"

* * *

Inside, Derrek is asleep as a Charmeleon. Suddenly, he begins to glow and starts to grow a longer body. Outside, the guild building seems fine, but all of a sudden, an explosion goes off several feet down the building. "OH GOD DAMN IT!" Someone said in the distance.

* * *

Rioku starts to snicker. "Wait... what did he turn into?"

"An Onix, I laughed so hard when I saw his head through the roof outside." Lynda said smiling.

"I heard that you know!" Derrek said in anger as he gets out of his bed.

"Well sorry we woke you up sleepy head." Lynda said.

"'ugh' Whatever, did Clefable call us yet?"

Suddenly, a knock at the door is heard. "Team Vital Fighters, you're needed in Clefables office." A guard says.

"Tell him we'll be there in a minute." Rioku said.

The others gather up oran berries and several Iron looking stakes from the chest in the room. Rioku grabs his bag and takes out a few books. Then he throws the bag over his shoulder and carries it. Lynda and Derrek walk out the door, with Rioku following him. A few minutes later, they make it to Guild Master Clefables office and close the door behind them.

"Okay Clefable, whats our mission?" Derrek asked.

"Well... Rioku, do you remember bringing that Scyther into custody?" Clefable asked.

"Um yeah, I brought him in and locked him up." Rioku answered, confused to what Clefable is trying to get at.

Clefable sighs and gets out of his chair. "Well... he got out."

Rioku's eyes widened. "But, I know I did. He barely even put up a fight!"

"Well what others were telling me is that he must've gotten out by breaking the cell wall somehow." Clefable said.

"Damn it! Well, have other people sighted where he's at right now?" Rioku asked.

"Actually yes, he's at the mountain tops called Mt. Steel." Clefable said.

"Then why are we just sitting here? Lets go!" Rioku runs towards the door.

"Hold it!" Clefable said. Rioku halts and turns to face Clefable.

"I haven't finished yet. Apparently he's with other pokemon, and he managed to steal some goods at Kecleon Market." Clefable said.

"God, this bastard is full of surprises. So who are these people he's with." Rioku asked.

"Hm... its hard for me to say this but... he's with a criminal team. Team Gash." Clefable said.

(To Be Continued)

(Feel free to criticize any part of my fan fic, it doesn't matter. As long as I improve, I'm happy.)


	4. Chapter 4

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 4

Rioku looks at Clefable, both scared and curious about the enemy team. "So, who is this team? And why are they helping Scyther?"

Clefable gets up with a nervous look on his face. He walks towards the window behind him. "Thats the thing… I don't know. I don't know why they want to help him, or how they even know him. But others are saying that he's the one leading the team."

Derrek gets up and transforms into a growlithe. "No worries Guild Master, we'll take care of him and make sure we get him back in prison!"

"Good, I want you guys to bring him back today. You will be rewarded for your actions when you three succeed in your mission. Best of luck to you guys." Clefable said.

* * *

As the team leaves the building, Rioku is following Lynda and Derrek, but he is looking down and seems nervous. Derrek turns to him worried if he's afraid or something. "Hey Rioku, you okay bro?"

Rioku looks at Derrek still nervous. "I don't know, its just that something is rubbing me the wrong way. When I fought Scyther 2 days ago, he didn't seem that strong to me. But how Clefable described the criminal team, how could Scyther be the leader to a criminal team?"

"He must've been holding back and observing your abilities, then he made it out of the prison and went back to the enemy team." Lynda assumed.

"Wait, you're saying that he might have known the team before we did?" Rioku asked.

"Possibly, but I suppose we'll have to find out for ourselves." Derrek said as he transforms into a Mankey again. He looks into their bag they have and pulls out a map. "Okay, so this is where we are right now." He points towards a marked part of the map named Genova. "And this is our destination." He moves his finger towards a large mountain, beside some small mountains, and near the ocean. "This is Mt. Steel. We'll be there in about 30 minutes or less if we run."

"Sounds fine with me I suppose. Lead the way." Rioku said now no longer worried.

Derrek transforms into a Fearow, and fly up in the air. Lynda grabs the yellow stone on her and transforms into a Jolteon. Both of them start running and heads off to Mt. Steel.

Rioku runs after them and tries to keep up with them.

* * *

As the 30 minutes pass, they make it to Mt. Steel, and Derrek transforms into a Sneasel. "Well here we are guys, we finally made it."

"Lets just hope we don't run into the criminal team just yet." Rioku said.

As the team is going up, a pokemon cloaked by the shadows of the mountains is looking down at Rioku and the others. "I best warn Master Scyther about their approach." The pokemon jumps up towards the wall of the mountain and its claws begin to glow. The strange pokemon starts climbing up the mountain towards the top.

* * *

At the top, Scyther is looking off at the Ocean, like he's pondering something. "So Zant, are the heroes on their way?"

"Yes sir, they're making their way up the mountain as we speak." The pokemon said revealing part of its fur which has red markings on it.

"Good, then everything is going as planned. Get the Team ready. We'll need to be ready for anything." Scyther said.

"Yes sir." The pokemon disappears, leaving Scyther all to himself.

Scyther walks towards the pile of goods him and the team took back in town. He looks at one of the items, which is a small silver capsule, of what seems to be liquid metal inside of it. "I guess I really need to step my game up soon, but first." He walks towards the edge and spots Rioku with a few others. "Okay Rioku, I'm interested in what you and your team members have in store for me. Just try to make it up to this summit."

(To Be Continued)

(Criticize any part of the new chapter; trust me it can help me if you point out the problems in it.)


	5. Chapter 5

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 5

As Team Vital Fighters make it to the fifth floor of Mt. Steel, they notice something up ahead. It looks like some kind of pokemon with red markings on its white fur. As the pokemon turns to face the team, there is a scar on its right eye. "Hello there, how are you three doing so far?"

Derrek stands there staring at the stranger. "I'm guessing that you're with Team Gash?"

The stranger nods and walks towards the team. "You're correct, my name is Zant, the Zangoose. I'm the 4th member of the team. So if you want to pass by, 'changes to battle stance' you'll have to go through me." Zant said.

Rioku glares at him, but Derrek steps in front, blocking Rioku. "No Rioku, I'll take this guy on." Derrek then transforms into a Primeape.

Zant stares at Derrek. "Hm... Scyther was telling me all about Rioku's new team. My guess he either got a really good Mew, or a worthless Ditto. But come to think of it, no species of Ditto can transform into a common species of pokemon on the fly, it just doesn't add up. This one may be a bit tough to take out. That, and no one has saw a Mew in centuries." He said to himself. "Okay big guy, give me your best shot!"

Derrek immediately dashes towards Zant, which startles him and he is forced to jump back. Zant's claws glow and he continuously swipes at Derreks torso. Zant jumps away from Derrek and smiles. Derrek lands back on the ground and glares at Zant.

"'laughs' So how does my combination of Metal Claw and Fury Swipes feel?" Zant said.

Derrek stays silent and continues to stare at Zant.

Zant looks at Derrek and is puzzled to why he isn't in pain. "Oh come on, no one is able to brush off that combo of mine." He said to himself.

"You know, that attack of yours, kinda felt like you were scratching my stomach. I mean, I'm not complaining, there was a slight itch there anyways. But if you mean't for it to actually hurt me... think again." Derrek dashs towards Zant at blazing speed and punches Zant in the chest. He continuously punches him over and over. As Zant falls to his knees, he grabs him by the throat. "Tell your cowardly leader that we're on our way to kick his ass!" Derrek releases Zant and he runs off.

Rioku stands there astonished, at how strong Derrek was. "Woah... I didn't know you were that strong."

"Well that depends on my level rank of team members." Derrek said with a smile.

"Wait... rank?" Rioku asked.

"'sigh' Look, Clefable will explain it when we get back. Its complicated honestly." Derrek said.

Rioku shrugs and follows Derrek along with Lynda.

* * *

As Zant makes his way back on top, he looks around and notices Scyther walking towards him. "So, judging by your condition, I assume that you failed to defeat them?" Scyther said.

"Boss I'm sorry, they were too much for me to handle!" Zant said kneeling.

"You're a disgrace to the team." Scyther said turning around and walking away from Zant.

"No sir please, I can still-" Zant ceases speaking, as Scyther swipes at his torso.

A huge gash appears on his torso, and blood starts dripping from the wound. "'gags' S-sir?! Why!? 'coughs'"

Scyther gently pushes Zant with his foot, and he falls off the edge. Zant continues to fall until he falls through the fog below the mountains.

Scyther walks off towards a cave and leaves the area.

* * *

As the others make it to the next 5 stairs, they come across a clearing. Rioku looks around in confusion. "Wait a minute? Is this the end of the area?"

"No, its usually a stopping area. These places don't usually have wild pokemon... speaking of, we haven't came across any when we were going through this place." Derrek said.

"Yeah, you're right, this place is kinda empty. A little too empty if you ask me." Lynda said.

"Well lets just stop and rest here for now." Derrek said as he lies down.

The others do the same until, a shrouded pokemon is up ahead spying on them. "Oh, a little tired aren't we. I'll make sure to fix that."

(To Be Continued)

(Feel free to criticize the chapter in any way shape or form)


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 6

As night falls, the three heroes are asleep on the ground. However, one of Rioku's ears twitch, as if hearing something nearby. His eyes shot open and he gets up looking around. "Guys, get up, I sense someone is nearby."

Derrek and Lynda open their eyes and begin to yawn. "'tsk' Who is it?" Derrek asked.

"We're about to find out. Hey! I know you're here! So go ahead and show yourself!" Rioku said towards the path up ahead.

After a few seconds have passed, a pokemon with what seems to be the blade of a battle axe attached to its head approaches the team. "Well Rioku, you seem to have very good ears to hear me several feet back there."

"Well someone has to stay alert sometimes." Rioku said while smiling.

The pokemon laughs and looks at him. "I just hope you will be ready to face Scyther."

"Ha! Please, if Rioku beaten him once, then he can beat him again!" Lynda said with confidence.

The stranger just laughs and turns away from the three. "Well, if you found the last fight of his easy. You won't be disappointed this time, because he's not going to pull any punches this time around. Oh, and the name is Galahad by the way." Galahad begins to walk away from the three and eventually disappears in the darkness.

Rioku scratches his head, then looks at both Derrek and Lynda. "So what did he mean by that?"

Derrek and Lynda both shrug. "Beats me, but he might be saying that the first fight might not be the easiest." Lynda said.

"No what I wanna know is why does he think that we're not going to help Rioku?" Derrek asked.

"We'll just have to find out later on." Lynda said.

"Well I think we rested up enough, we better keep going." Rioku said as he starts walking towards the path.

Derrek and Lynda also get up and follow Rioku. As the three climb another 5 stairs, they come across a large empty room with torches keeping the place lit up. As Rioku takes the lead, a weird looking Mantis like insectoid with leaf like blades on its arms appears behind a stalagmite. The insectoid walks out from behind the stalagmite and faces Rioku. "Well, you two have been doing rather well. You've managed to beat Zant with ease."

"Well to be honest, he was rather weak, and judging by that, I assume you're a little more powerful than him." Rioku said.

"True, but trust me, I'll make sure that the last fight won't be such a pushover." The stranger said. "The name is Kris, the third member of Team Gash! I hope you can see in the dark Rioku!"

Kris said. Suddenly, she starts to spin around and begins to whip up the wind. The swirling winds blow the torches out and the entire room is dark. Rioku looks around in desperation to figure out where Kris is.

However, Kris is standing there keeping her eyes on Rioku easily in the dark. Her eyes are glowing for some reason. "'laughs' As long as I keep using my mind reader technique, I can see where he's located. He'll never know what hit him."

Kris looks at Rioku, then dashes towards Rioku. She raises her arms and continuously swipes her leaf blades at Rioku, while Rioku is helpless to stop her attacks. She finally kicks Rioku which sends him flying in the air and slamming into the rocky wall.

As Rioku slides down the wall and back on the ground, he struggles to get up off of his feet and continues to look around, to try and locate Kris, but fails as Kris kicks him in the chest and then soccer kicks him again, sending him flying towards some stalagmites on the top of the room. He hits it and then falls back on the ground. As he tries to get up he notices that he can see the ground again but it has a bluish tint to it. As he gets up he see's something running towards him, as it tries to kick him one last time, he side steps out of the way and punches her in the face, making her slide back about 5 feet away.

"What the? How did he do that?" Kris said to herself. All of a sudden, Rioku appears in front of her and continuously punches her then kicks her into the stalagmites. As she tries to get up, he jumps and dive kicks her head. She starts stumbling around and then falls to the ground completely unconscious.

Rioku is steadily panting and says, "That's… what I thought! You stay down! You bitch!"

Then the torches become lit again as Lynda begins lighting each torch in her Flareon form.

"Wha-!? HOLD ON! Howcome you didn't light them up earlier?!" Rioku said now angry.

"Look, if we did, she still would've put them out with ease, so there was no point. That and we wanted to see if you can handle this fight, which you did with… somewhat flying colors." Derrek said.

Rioku just folds his arms and lies on the ground. Well I hope the next one will be easier than that, because she was becoming a pain in the ass to be perfectly honest."

(To Be Continued)

(Feel free to criticize this chapter; any type of criticism can help me no matter what it is whether it be grammatical or nitpicky)


	7. Chapter 7

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 7

After a few minutes, they begin to make their way up Mt. Steel. Right now, Derrek is leading the team, but Rioku seems to be falling behind and continues to stare at the ground. He seems to be talking to himself. "What did I do to see in the dark? I'm damn sure I don't have night vision... or part bat."

Then, Rioku accidentally bumps into Derrek. But Derrek seems to have stopped for a moment. "Rioku, are you okay? You've been staring at the ground for a while now."

"I don't know. I was thinking about that fight I had earlier. The entire room was dark, but after a few minutes of the fight, I started to see again, but the area around me had some blue tint to it." Rioku said crossing his arms and looking away.

Derrek kneels to Rioku's level and says, "I think I know what you did, but what I want you to do is to close your eyes and focus your energy to your head. I want to see if what I'm thinking is real."

Rioku looks at him confused. "Um... okay, I'll do it." Rioku closes his eyes and breathes in then out. After about 15 seconds, the two appendages begin to rise from the back of his head. But, Rioku seems to be having trouble and eventually opens his eyes and rubs his head. "Great, now I got a headache."

"I was right, you've nearly mastered Aura Vision." Derrek said.

"Aura what now?" Rioku said curiously.

"You don't know what Aura Vision is?" Derrek asked.

"No, I never heard of it until now. Care to explain more about it?" Rioku said now starting to walk on the path towards the final set of stairs.

Derrek follows him and continues the story. "Well, Aura Vision is a capability of the Riolu family, they're able to see and sense aura around them, including other peoples aura. (Scratches his head) But what I don't get, is how do you know how to do it. Only Lucarios can do that."

Rioku looks at Derrek and grins. "Well I guess that makes me special then."

"I suppose, but I guess we'll have to find out from Guild Master Clefable. He probably knows." Derrek said as they made it to the last stair case.

As Derrek and Rioku make it up the staircase, Lynda looks at Derrek and looks away. She seems to be worried about something. "Derrek, please don't push yourself please. I'm not sure about the other three instead of Scyther. The power I sense from them, is through the roof."

As they make it to the final set of stairs, they begin to climb up the last bit of the stairs, they see that they made it to the opening and up the top of the mountain. Right now, its night time and there are torches all around the mountain top, keeping the place visible.

* * *

Rioku looks around and notices three pokemon, one of them being Scyther. "Well looks like we weren't late for the party!" Rioku yelled at Scyther.

Scyther turns to face the group and smiles. "So how was the trip you three?"

"Well to be honest, it was a pretty long climb. But other than that, we enjoyed it. Met a few people, seen quite a few areas. So you could say we enjoyed the trip. But enough joking around, Scyther, you know exactly why we're here! We're going to bring you back to prison for good." Rioku said.

"Well Rioku, if you want to get to him, you'll have to go through us first." Galahad said as he walks in front of Scyther, along with the other pokemon with a large fin poking out the back of it and with fins on the front of its arms.

"Stand back Rioku, I can handle them. Both of them will be taken down easily." Derrek said as he transforms into a Heracross and bolts after Galahad. But, Derrek becomes intercepted by a punch from the large finned pokemon. He goes flying then tumbles onto the ground.

When Derrek tries to get up, he becomes smushed by the finned pokemons large foot. "Come on you wuss! I know you can take more pain!" The finned pokemon said.

Lynda's face is filled with anger and worry. She looks at Derrek. "Get up Derrek! He'll kill you!"

Derrek continues to groan in pain from the pressure of him trying to flatten him. "COME ON!" The finned pokemon kicks him to the side. "GET YOUR ASS UP AND FIGHT ME!"

Derrek tries to get up but falls over from the pain. The finned pokemon growls and raises his right arm. "I said, GET UP!" He swings his arm down to Derrek's back.

"Enough Fang! I think you have won the fight. Unless you want to get risked of being frozen alive." Galahad yelled.

"Heh, what are you talki-" When fang glances at the other two, he notices Lynda has transformed into a Vaporeon and is charging up an icey beam attack. "Get the fuck away from him! Unless you want to taste the deep freeze!" Lynda threatened.

Fang stares at her and looks at Derrek. He smiles then kicks him to the side. "I guess I wasn't just pushing his buttons but yours as well. Heh, two for one deal!" Fang joked as he runs after Lynda.

She fires the beam and as it makes contact, it slowly freezes Fang in a icey prison. He begins to slow his running from the stiffness of the ice on his body. As his body stops, the posture shows him trying to swing his left arm.

"This is for Derrek." Lynda said as her tail begins to glow. She jumps and before she swings her tail she yells, "Iron Tail!" then swings it and shatters Fang into small frozen body parts.

As she lands back on the ground, she glares at Galahad and bolts towards him. As she tries to jump and nash her icey jaws onto his metal shoulder, Galahad sidesteps out of the way. His gauntlet like hand begins to surge with electricity, and he jabs his hand onto her side and the electricity becomes transfered to her body.

She falls over and the electricity is now continuously surging through Lynda's body. She tries to get up, but the surge of electricity is keeping her from moving her feet.

Galahad looks at Rioku who is now enraged for what his team has done to his team. Rioku growls and runs towards him. As Rioku is several feet away from his enemy, Galahad's hand begins to glow. Suddenly, Rioku jumps to the side, and he throws a swift right hook to Galahad's face.

Galahad slides back from the blow, but smiles and looks at Rioku. "Pathetic, I barely even felt that. So know you will end up like the rest of your friends!"

Rioku glares at him and a large blue sphere of pure aura appears in his right hand. He starts to walk towards Galahad, and points the sphere towards him. "Go to hell!" Rioku said as he fires the Aura Sphere. As it makes contact with Galahad, he goes flying off the edge of the mountain and falls to the clouds below.

Rioku pants, due to the fact that he put most of his energy into the last attack.

"Oh come now! Surely you have more energy than just that! I suppose I'll have to unleash my true form then." Scyther said. He turns to the stash of stolen goods and looks at the metal coat capsule. He smiles and then slices the capsule in two. The liquid Metal slowly wraps around Scyther's blade arm, and spreads to his upper arm, then to the rest of his body.

He begins to glow and his body starts to change shape. First his blade arms turn into claws. His wings begin to change shape but still retain its thin structure. The rest of his body turns red, and the head slightly changes shape as well. The glow disipitates and he glares at Rioku. But he notices him eating a berry.

"Geez, took you long enough." Rioku said while eating the berry.

"Did... did you just sit there watching me transform? Just eating that?!" Scyther asked.

"Yeah?" Rioku answered as he finishs the berry and wipes his mouth with his hand. "I was hungry, and a little weak. So I thought, why not eat one of these things and enjoy the show." Rioku said with a smile.

"You stubborn brat! Healing yourself won't help you in this fight! I Alloy, will rip you into pieces." Alloy said.

"Wait... did you just say your name is Alloy?" Rioku said now smirking.

"Yes, and-" Alloy stops speaking, since he begins to notice Rioku snickering. "Whats so funny!"

"Oh I don't know, its just that your name sounds kinda... I don't know, generic?" Rioku said.

Alloy doesn't even respond, he just bolts towards him and grabs him by the throat. "You ungrateful bastard! I will not show you mercy!" He yells as he slams Rioku on the ground, and kicks him.

Rioku goes flying and as he is about to tumble off the edge, he grabs the edge of the cliff and climbs back up. As he gets on his feet, he looks around, noticing that Alloy is nowhere to be seen. He walks towards the center of the mountain top and looks around again. "Show yourself coward!"

"Okay then! As you wish!" Alloy replied as he appears from above and lands infront of Riolu. His hands glow white and right as he rears back to land a punch he yells, "Bullet Punch!" and continuously punches him at vigorous speeds. After he punches Rioku repeatedly for almost a full minute, he punches him in the stomach, which makes Rioku kneel over in pain. Alloy then elbows him to the ground, and picks him up. "How does the pain feel Rioku?"

Rioku starts to choke and cough from Alloy clenching his neck. Rioku thinks to himself to come up with a plan. Then Rioku's left foot begins to glow red and when he swings, it bursts into flames. He kicks Alloy in the chest, which makes him let go of Rioku. He jumps back a few feet and clenches his chest in pain.

"What was that burn I felt?" Alloy said to himself, until he notices Rioku's left foot is glowing red. "Wait... you can't! Thats impossible for a low class like yourself to know Blaze Kick!" Alloy said.

Suddenly, Rioku runs towards Alloy and kicks him in the head, which in turn knocks him out. Rioku picks him up and looks at both Derrek and Lynda, who are still on the ground. He puts Alloy down, and looks through the bag he has. He grabs another oran berry and a red berry out of the bag. He puts the oran berry into Derrek's mouth, and as he begins to chew on it, he opens his eyes and starts rubbing his head.

"Ugh, my head, what happened?" Derrek asked, as he transforms into his Ditto form.

"That finned pokemon named Fang knocked you out during the fight." Rioku answered.

"Oh really!? Well I'll give him another beating then." Derrek said popping his knuckles.

"That... won't be possible." Rioku said.

"Why is that?" Derrek asked.

"Well-" Rioku just points towards Fangs frozen head. When Derrek looked at it, his eyes widens and he hides behind Rioku.

"Dear Arceus! What happened to him!?" Derrek said now frightened.

"Lynda... quite literally shattered him to pieces, after you were defeated during the fight." Rioku answered.

"Well, lets get out of here then, I've had enough adventure for one day." Derrek said.

"I'll get Lynda patched up and we'll head on out." Rioku said.

He walks towards Lynda and puts the red berry in her mouth. As she chew on it, the electricity disperses and she's able to move again. She finally reverts back to her regular form and gets up. "Geez, you handled that fight pretty well."

"Yeah, it was nothing. I just didn't want him to do anything to you guys. Besides, thats what teams are. We work together, and look out for each other as well. So I had to try and stop them both." Rioku said smiling.

"Well, lets grab Scyther and lock him up." Derrek said.

"Yeah... about that, he's no longer a Scyther." Rioku said.

"Wait... what?!" Derrek and Lynda said.

Rioku points towards Alloy who is still on the ground unconcious.

"Oh... he evolved." Derrek said.

"Yeah, he sliced open some kind of capsule to make himself evolve." Rioku said.

"So thats what he did, I suppose we'll use that as evidence that he changed form." Derrek said.

* * *

As morning rises, they grab the carridge and the goods inside the cave that Alloy left. Lynda and Rioku place Alloy and Kris on the carriage, and Derrek loads the carriage up with the stolen goods.

"Okay, is everyone ready to go?" Derrek said.

"Yup, we're all set." Lynda said as Rioku gets on the carridge.

"Okay then!" Derrek said as he transforms into a Weavile. He grabs the handles of the carriage tightly. "Next stop, Genova City!"

Derrek begins to pull the carridge at blazing speeds and zooms off into the distance.

(To be continued)

(Feel free to criticize the chapter in anyway, shape, or form.)


	8. Chapter 8

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)

Chapter 8

Back at Genova, Clefable is walking around the guild building. He seems to be talking to himself. "(Sigh) I hope they're alright, they've been gone for at least a day now." Then he notices a carriage of goods being carried by a Weavile. Clefable looks at the carriage and notices Rioku and Lynda. "Oh sweet Arceus, they're safe." Clefable walks down some steps, and the Weavile stops near the steps where Clefable is at. "I assume the mission was a success?"

"Heck yeah it was! We had a bit of trouble with these two but we managed to make it out alive." Rioku said smiling.

Clefable looks at the back of the carriage and notices the Leavanny and Scizor, but wonders where the Scyther is. "Um… where is Scyther?" Clefable asked.

"Yeah, this is him." Lynda said pointing her paw at Alloy. "Scyther, who also calls himself Alloy now, evolved himself by using a Metal Coat Capsule. And for the rest of Team Gash, Kris was the only one left." Lynda said as she points towards Kris.

"Oh, okay. Well do you have the capsule to prove that he evolved?" Clefable asked.

"Right here." Derrek said as he hands Clefable the cut open capsule.

"Okay, send the two to the Magnemite Prison. I'd like to have a word with Rioku while you and Lynda are off putting them in a cell." Clefable said.

"Okay then, after we send them to Magnemite Prison, we'll return the stolen goods to Kecleon Market." Derrek said as he grabs ahold of the carriage's handles and starts pulling it to the town ahead.

Rioku walks beside Clefable and asks. "So, what did you wanted to tell me?"

Clefable kneels to Rioku's height and responds, "Well, I just wanted to know if you like your team so far."

"Of course I am, they're pretty dang powerful too. Heck, I even think that just the two of them would work for a regular team." Rioku said.

"Well, the reason why I wanted you to join the team, was that I wanted someone to watch out for the two. I know that they're very powerful, but sometimes, they push themselves too far and get hurt in the process." Clefable said.

"Well that is true, because Derrek was talking about a Level Rank or some crap." Rioku said.

"Oh, so Derrek mentioned you Level Rank hasn't he?" Clefable asked.

"Yeah, why?" Rioku asked.

"Well I'd like you to speak to me in private." Clefable turns to face the guild building entrance. "Follow me to my office." Clefable said as he walks towards the entrance. Rioku follows him from behind.

* * *

As they make it inside, Clefable picks up a few papers with one column of numbers from 1 to 10, each having a word saying low, middle, or high next to each number. "Do you know what level rank you are as of now, Rioku?" Clefable asked.

"Right now? To be honest, I don't know." Rioku said.

"Well I'll tell you yours in a minute. But, do you want to know about Derrek and Lynda's?" Clefable asked.

"Oh, sure." Rioku said.

"Here is Derrek's" Clefable said as he points towards the number 3 and towards the word high. "Thats his rank at the moment. So here is Lynda's" He points towards the number 4 and towards the word medium.

"I can see that you actually went up a rank. Last time I met you, the power I sensed from you was about a level rank three medium. But, right now it's a level rank four low." Clefable said.

"I guess the reason why it went up is because I learned a few new techniques. Two I believe are called Aura Vision and Blaze Kick." Rioku said.

Clefables eyes widen from what Rioku said. "Wait… did you say Aura Vision?"

"Um… yeah?" Rioku said.

"No Riolu can use Aura vision without evolving into their more powerful form, Lucario. But you, you managed to unlock it at your pre-evolution form. And you also said something about Blaze Kick correct?"

"Mhm." Rioku said.

"This is very interesting. I was wondering about your family line, because a Riolu, like yourself, can't learn that unless they have a parent that knows the technique to it." Clefable said.

"Well, I don't know any of my family members that knew Blaze Kick." Rioku said.

"No worries, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you can use it. But I don't think you know how to use it at will do you?" Clefable asked.

Rioku shook his head and Clefable looks at a few papers. He moves a few other papers aside and picks up a picture of what seems to look like an old Alakazam.

"Go meet her inside her shrine at Mystical Forest, and she will help you perfect that technique. Her name is Azerath. She's an old Guru. In fact, she's even older than me. She might even help you learn your other techniques in your evolution line." Clefable said.

"Well if training can help me take my opponents out easier, I suppose it can't hurt to meet her." Rioku said.

* * *

As Rioku makes it to the shrine, he walks towards the door. Right when he was going to grab the door handle, the door automatically slides open. Rioku was startled by the door moving on its own. He enters anyway, and the door slides closed behind him. "Mrs. Azerath? If you're here, a friend of mine sent me to-"

"I know, Clefable sent you here for training. I heard every word of the conversation." An old raspy voice said.

"Wait, how did you know that? Were you in the room somewhere?" Rioku asked.

"I was listening to you by using my telepathy and to hear the whole conversation, Clefable was speaking of you and your name. So that's how I know who you are." The old raspy voice said.

Rioku looked around to find where the voice was coming from. "Well, that's cool and all. But, where are you?"

"Give me a moment." The old raspy voice said.

Suddenly, the old Alakazam named Azerath teleported in the room. "These old bones are a bit sore today, so it's kind of hard for me to get around. But, at least my psychic powers can help me get around easier." Azerath said. "So, you wanted to try and perfect the techniques of Aura Vision and Blaze Kick today I assume." Azerath said.

"Yeah, that's exactly it. I was wondering if I can start today, if it's possible." Rioku said.

Azerath smiles and gets up on her feet. "Well you seemed determined to start." She walks towards a door and opens it. "Follow me, I'll show you around."

* * *

They walk into the room and inside are practice dummies, punching bags, and a pile of logs and some long stakes.

"Woah, is this where your students come and train?" Rioku asked.

"Yes, in fact, a few are still training here." Azerath said.

"Really? So when can I meet them?" Rioku asked.

"Sadly, they left a few minutes ago." Azerath said.

Rioku looked rather disappointed and replied, "Oh… well, I guess I'll see them later on then."

Azerath patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Rioku. They will be back, they just went to do a few errands of mine." Azerath said.

"So what are we waiting for, let's start!" Rioku said smiling.

Azerath uses her psychic powers to place a log on top of a stump. "Okay Rioku, chop this log in half. Make it a clean cut as well."

"No problem!" Rioku rears back and swings his arm on the log. When his hand came in contact with the log, it splits in two and falls to the ground. "What do you think of that?"

She sighs and places another log on the stump. "That was pathetic. Do it again."

"What?! How was that pathetic?! I put all my might in that chop." Rioku said.

"Look at the chopped log." Azerath said.

Rioku looks at the log and notices a few pieces are broken off of it. "Oh."

"Oh, is exactly right. When you chopped it in half, the bottom of it had a few pieces chip off. This is your first lesson. Precision. Precision can help you in the heat of a battle. If you're off by a small bit, it can cost you dearly." Azerath said. "Here is how you do it correctly." Azerath walks in front of the log and holds her hand out. She raises her arm and swings her arm down onto the log. After a few seconds, the log splits cleanly into two pieces.

Rioku looks completely stunned by how well she managed to do it. "Wow that was really good!"

"I thank you for the compliment but remember. You're here to learn, not to sight see." Azerath said. "So do it again." She said as she places another log on the stump.

Rioku tries again and this time, it was even worse. The log became completely shattered, and chips of wood went everywhere.

Azerath just sighs and walks towards a corner. "Keep doing that til you get a clean cut."

"Oh come on are you serious?!" Rioku said. "DO YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PERFECT THE TECHNIQUE OR NOT?!" Azerath snapped at him.

Rioku is startled by her sudden change in tone. He looks away and replies, "Yes ma'am."

* * *

As Derrek and Lynda drop the carriage of goods off after handing the Magnemite guards the criminals they captured, they look at the guild building. "I wonder why Clefable needed to talk to him." Derrek said.

"Who knows? I guess he's asking about how the mission went." Lynda said.

"I suppose, but I'm just curious about what they're talking about the mission in general. How about we see what they're talking about after we're done here?" Derrek asked.

Lynda nodded and they continue handing the goods back to the Kecleon workers.

After they were done giving them back the stolen goods. One of the Kecleon workers walks towards them.

"Oh thank you so much. Here, a token of our gratitude." One of the Kecleon workers said as they hand him three blue orbs marked Luminous Orb.

"You're very welcome, and thank you for the gifts. Let Clefable know if you guys need help. We'll be there to lend a hand." Derrek said as he starts to walk towards the guild building. Lynda follows and walks beside him.

"So, what did you think about Rioku on his first mission?" Lynda asked.

"I have to say, that boy is talented, I'll give him that. But he can be a little reckless at times." Derrek said.

Lynda looks at him with a smug expression. "Oh and you weren't?"

Derrek sighs and crosses his arms. "Okay, I might have gone a little overboard too. But, I just wanted to save you guys the trouble is all."

"I know Derrek, but still, you shouldn't push yourself like that. You know you could've gotten yourself killed if I haven't saved you." Lynda said while pouting.

"I know, I..." Derrek sighs and looks at her. "I'm sorry Lynda. Trust me; I won't make the same mistake again."

Lynda smiles and continues to walk towards the guild building.

* * *

They continue on their walking, til they make it to the building. Then they come across Clefable walking outside. "Oh, guild master! Over here!" Derrek said waving at Clefable. He begins to run towards him.

As he makes it to where Clefable was, he slows down and walks towards him. "Sir, where is Rioku? I thought he would be with you."

"Oh, well I sent him to a shrine to train." Clefable said.

Derrek looks at him for a moment, then his face turns into anger. He begins to glow and transforms into a Krookadile. "Are you insane?! You let him go alone?!"

Clefable backs away now a little nervous. "Calm down, he just went to the shrine at Mystical Forest."

Derrek looks at him now with curiosity. "Wait... you mean the shrine owned by Azerath? The Guru?"

Clefable nods and responds, "Mhm, thats the one. He was telling me that he learned a few new skills. So I thought, why not send him there to polish his skills? You guys can go there as well. Just don't do anything rash around her. She doesn't like others to cause trouble."

Derrek leans towards Lynda and whispers, "Yeah, thats a no brainer don'cha think?"

Lynda nods and faces Clefable. "Don't worry guild master, we'll be on our best behavior."

Clefable nods and salutes.

The two salute back and walk away.

* * *

Several hours later, Rioku is steadily chopping log after log. Some of the chopped logs are either sliced slightly diagonally, or chopped very roughly. He's panting very hard, like he's been at this for a while. Azerath is in the corner watching him continuously chop over and over.

"That boy is determined. I like it that way." She said to herself. "You know, most of my trainees would give up by now. But you, you seem different, you've been at this for hours on end." Azerath said.

"I guess, I just really want to do it perfectly." Rioku said while panting.

Azerath smiles and walks towards him. "How about you take a break."

"No thank you, I'm fine." Rioku said while still panting.

"Look, you've been at this long enough. You can try aga-" Azerath becomes interrupted when Rioku slams his hand on the log.

"I said I'm fine!" Rioku said.

Then the log slowly starts to separate. When they completely separated, the cut is completely clean.

Azerath gasps to see how clean the cut was.

Rioku lowers his head and replies, "I'm sorry I snapped at you Mrs. Azerath."

She snickers a bit and pats his shoulder. "Like I said, its time you take a break. Because, you passed." Azerath said as she walks past him into the other room.

Rioku looks confused until he looks at the sliced log and see's that its completely chopped cleanly in half. He smiles and walks away.

* * *

As the two walk inside the main shrine, Azerath stops and seems to be nervous. "Thats odd... I thought they'd be back by now."

"Who?" Rioku asked.

"My other trainees, they should've arrived by now" Azerath said.

Then, a Machoke carrying a Blaziken, and Lynda opens the door. Behind the Machoke, is a Mienfoo.

"What the?!" Azerath said. "Who are you?!" Azerath levitates in the air and her eyes began to glow.

"Wait! Master, they're trying to help!" The Mienfoo said.

Azerath's eyes return to normal, and she rests her feet back on the ground.

"So what happened Derrek?" Rioku asked.

Derrek sets the Blaziken down in the middle of the room. The Blaziken moans in pain and turns over, revealing a small gash on his arm. The gash itself is very red and irritated.

"What happened to him, Barin?!" Azerath said.

"I don't know, it happened so fast. There were some of these poison type pokemon, who attacked us and took our things we bought for you. And when one of them tried to attack me, Aedus sheilded me from the attack. He seems like he' in a lot of pain." Barin said.

"That might be poison thats giving him pain. However, when I came to help them, I noticed where they went. They seem to be heading to Toxic Canyon. If we go there, we'll find them." Derrek said.

"Then, I'm going with you. I want to see them myself, then tear them appart!" Azerath said in anger.

"Now, don't do anything rational, what if they have something or know what to use. Like Pecha Berrys?" Lynda said.

"That won't do, I can tell from the pain he's getting that he's badly poisoned, and Pecha Berry's aren't strong enough. No we need something stronger." Derrek said.

"Like Anti-Toxinosis Medicine. That should be strong enough." Azerath said.

"Okay then, lets get going then." Rioku said.

"I'll stay here and help keep Aedus alive." Lynda said. "Oh and Rioku?" Lynda asked.

"Yeah?" Rioku replied.

"Keep Derrek alive as well while you're gone." Lynda said.

"Will do." Rioku said.

"And I'll stay here too, after what Aedus did to protect me. I think its time that I return the favor." Barin said.

* * *

As the two make it outside, Azerath levitates in the air and her eyes begin to glow. "I'll teleport us there. Hang on tight boys, or if you like being teleported in a random location."

"Like in the air?" Derrek said.

"Please don't give her any ideas!" Rioku said.

The three are then teleported out of the area and they head off to their destination.

(To Be Continued)

(Feel free to criticize this chapter in anyway, shape or form)


	9. Chapter 9

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (City of Genova)  
Chapter 9

Several Minutes later, the three arrive at the entrance of the Toxic Canyon. But, Rioku isn't in the group. Derrek looks around for a moment. "Rioku?! If you can hear me, just scream!"

Then a faint scream is heard from above and it sounds like it's getting closer. When it seems about inches away from them, a crash can be heard from several feet away from a forest.

Then, Rioku appears from the forest rubbing his head. "God damn, that hurt." Rioku sighs and looks at Derrek. "I told you not to give her any ideas!"

"(laughs) I'm sorry." Derrek said while laughing.

Azerath smiles and looks at the poisonous canyon ahead. She sighs and looks at Derrek and Rioku. "You know, this place used to be sacred and free of all this filth. It was originally called the Great Canyon. But, when the poison pokemon migrated here, the place had to be left to rot." Azerath said.

"Well before we continue on in this grime pit, how come we can't buy the medicine?" Rioku asked.

"That's the thing, it's expensive and rare. The only way to get it is to either spend a ton of money to get it, or make it ourselves. Thankfully, the process is very simple. It's just that it is very hard to get one of the ingredients. We have to get a sample of a poison pokemon's blood that tried to poison its target. But the problem is that the poison they hold is very toxic, it's very deadly to weaker foes. But for those who can resist it, are safe. For I have fallen ill from the toxins as well. But, I actually managed to live, since my parents managed to grab ahold of the medicine." Azerath said.

"Yeah, and my body is made up of all sorts of types, by the time they try to poison me, I'll turn into a Steel Type or a type of their own." Derrek said transforming into an Excadrill.

Azerath looks at Rioku and replies, "I'm assuming that you will have trouble with the poison types?"

"Well, I wouldn't if I was a Lucario... but yeah, you could say that." Rioku nervously said.

"Just stay by our side and you'll be fine." Azerath said. "Okay, lets get moving, time is waisting."

* * *

As the three begin their journey through the Toxic Canyon, they come across all kinds of poison types. Ranging from grimers, to koffings, to zubats, and many other types. However most of them try to avoid the heroes, most likely out of fear. Then, they come across a cave with two frog like pokemon guarding the entrance. Both of them seem to be carrying spears on them.

The two notice their presence and point their spears at Rioku and the others. "Halt! No one goes in, unless our master wishes for your presence."

"We're not here to talk to your leader, we have a badly poisoned pokemon on our hands and we're looking for the culprit who did it." Rioku said.

The two look at the three in shock then huddle together and whisper to each other. After a breif moment, one of them runs inside the cave. "We're sorry for the misunderstanding. Please, wait here. My friend is alerting our master to see if he can help you."

"Wait... I thought Poison types don't like helping outsiders?" Derrek said.

"Yes, part of that is true. Another tribe similar to ours is north from here, but they've been causing all kinds of crimes. It's ruining our reputation with Genova City." the guard said said.

Then the guard turns around to see his friend returning with a large scorpion like pokemon. The pokemon seems to be wearing some type of white robe, and holding onto a staff.

"So my visitors, where is the poisoned pokemon you speak of?" The scorpion pokemon said.

"That pokemon, was one of my trainee's. And he's badly poisoned right now." Azerath said.

"Well, I'd like to see him. Could you care to take me to him, so I can see if I can't help?" The scorpion pokemon said.

"Sure, we can-" Rioku is interrupted when Azerath taps him on his shoulder. She leans down to whisper in his ear. "Are you sure we can trust him? What if he tries to intensify the poison he has?" Azerath whispered.

"Hey its better than having some type of lead than to have no lead at all." Rioku whispered back.

Azerath nods and gets back onto her feet. "Okay, I'll show you where he's at."

The scorpion walks towards the three, then turns to face the frog pokemon. "Keep the place guarded while I'm gone you two. Make sure no one else comes in."

The two hold their spears up. "Yes sir!"

Azerath levitates in the air and her eyes begin to glow. Then the four are teleported away from the area to go back to the shrine.

* * *

Inside the shrine, Lynda and Barin are steadily checking up on Aedus. Then, they hear the front door open, and bolt to see if its the others. They see Azerath opening the door and allowing the scorpion pokemon to look at her badly poisoned trainee.

The scorpion pokemon holds a claw on top of Aedus' head. Then he takes his claw off Aedus' head and looks at the small red gash, which seems to have a darker red tint than they last saw. "Yes, he seems to be Badly Poisoned. I'm afraid he only has about 4 days to live until the poison reaches to his heart and ultimately kills him.  
But I do know the person who made this cut."

"So who would that be?" Azerath asked.

"His name is, Croden. A ruthless ruler of North Toxic Canyon. He mostly sends troops out to steal other useful goods from innocent pokemon. But for some reason, this is the cut that he made to poison your friend here. Its odd that he'd do his own schemes. He'd usually send his troops to do it instead." The scorpion pokemon said.

"Well, thank you for the help. We best go and find this 'Croden' person." Derrek said.

"Are you insane! This is no ordinary stranger waltzing around this world! No, he's a powerful leader, and will kill any intruder." The scorpion looks away for a moment. "Even if their innocent."

Derrek looks at him and his face turns to anger. "Like... what kind of innocent?"

"Do you really want to know? I remember a homeless child going against him, and he... he..." The scorpion pokemon looks down.

"That... monster! Only more reasons to stomp his ass to the ground." Derrek said.

"Derrek, hold on man, what if-" Rioku becomes interrupted by Derrek when he glares at him.

"What if? What if!? WHAT IF WHAT!? HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH A THING!?" Derrek yelled. "I've had it with this whole thing, I've seen pokemon around me die too many times, I won't let him take another!" Derrek then storms out of the room out of anger.

Azerath is shocked by his sudden change in temper. "Well... that escalated quickly."

"I'll go and see if I can't calm him down." Lynda said as she walks outside to talk with him.

"Well thank you for your help mister...?" Rioku said.

"The name is Kalen. And, you're welcome. I best head back to my tribe. I hope you manage to get your friend back to health." Kalen said. He walks out the door and walks towards the path to Toxic Canyon.

* * *

Outside in the night, Lynda is talking with Derrek who seems to have calmed down from earlier. "You feeling any better?" Lynda asked.

Derrek nodded and looks back inside the shrine. "(sigh) I shouldn't have snapped at him." He said to himself

Derrek gets up and walks towards the door. He opens it and walks inside.

* * *

Rioku looks at him and looks down. Derrek transforms into a Lucario and walks towards him. He sits by him and pats his shoulder. "Look Rioku, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just... I just can't stand innocent people die from the hands of an evil person." Derrek said.

"Its fine man, I honestly should've kept my mouth shut." Rioku said cracking a smile.

Derrek looks around and notices Azerath and Barin carrying Aedus upstairs. He looks back at Rioku and says, "You know, I've been wanting to tell you a story about when I was a bit younger. You see, I had an old friend, named Gradus. He was a Machop, and we hanged out a lot. As we grew older we became partners a rescue team, but many people didn't really trust us. You see, we were young kids, about 15 years old. So, others thought of us as bandits. Then, there was a group of bandits who barged in our town, they terrorized the place and tried to steal as many things they could get their hands on."

"So... what happened after that?" Rioku asked.

"Well... my friend and I ran into the bandits when we tried to sneak out of town. They were too strong for us, and so we pleaded that they'd leave us alone. Until I saw one of them grabbing Gradus by the neck. And... they killed him. I was enraged, and attacked them. Thats when I discovered my ability to transform into any known pokemon to my knowledge." Derrek said.

"What happened to the bandits?" Rioku asked.

"Well, I managed to chase them out of town. Gradus, was just lying on the ground... lifeless. Which is why I flipped out earlier. It reminded me of him. Thats, when I decided to keep a promise. A promise that I'd keep for good. Which is to make sure that innocent pokemon safe from harm." Derrek said.

Rioku looks down and says, "Wow... that sounds terrible."

Derrek smiles, and gets up onto his feet. "Well, I think its best we get some rest for tomorrow. We're gonna need it if we're gonna get that medicine for Aedus."

Rioku nods and gets up onto his feet. Derrek walks outside, back with Lynda. Rioku walks towards the center of the room and lies down. He slowly closes his eyes and falls asleep.


End file.
